The Lord of Sin joins the battle and he has an endless army of demons at his back.

Heroes of the Storm is getting a visit from none other than the Lord of Sin himself. Diablo III's Azmodan has joined the ranks to battle it out on the Nexus, and he's got an endless army of demons to help him reign over the battlefield.

In Heroes of the Storm, Azmodan is classified as a "Specialist" type hero, able to maintain battlefield control through use of his demon hordes, AoE abilities and buffs, which help improve friendly units and demons–himself included. His hero trait, "General of Hell", allows him to summon a demon general to lead troops into battle as it buffs the fighting abilities of mercenaries, minions and demons.

Azmodan's starting abilities include:

• Globe of Annihilation: The Lord of Sin can toss this concentrated sphere of hellfire onto a crowd of enemies, burning all caught in the blast
• Summon Demon Warrior: The legions of the Burning Hells march at Azmodan's command. These twisted demons relentlessly attack anything in their path.
• All Shall Burn: Azmodan channels a concentrated beam of searing death, doing steadily more damage as its destructive energy remains focused on a target

Azmodan's Heroic abilities include:

• Demonic Invasion: Azmodan can call armies into battle at a moment's notice. Bloodthirsty grunts rain down from the sky, crushing enemies caught under them before they determinedly rush into the fight.
• Black Pool: This creeping doom doesn't just create doubt and dread in enemies. The expanding pool empowers the fighting ability of summons demons, allied minions, and Azmodan himself.

Heroes of the Storm Game Designer, John Hodgson, sat down during another session of Developer Insights to unveal more about Azmodan's role, strengths and weaknesses in the game.

"...We are in agreement: Azmodan is a general, and his armies are legion. Azmodan was designed to match his reputation as a masterful (although overconfident) military commander and tactician of Hell. Although he went through many iterations on his individual abilities, Azmodan stayed a Specialist Hero during development. We made sure he would focus on pushing down enemy Forts with summoned units, bombarding enemies from afar with siege abilities, or conscripting Mercenary camps.

We wanted to do Azmodan the justice of being powerful in his own right, strength that a true Lord of Hell would deserve. In Heroes of the Storm, Azmodan is certainly able to wade into the thick of battle himself: he's got more health than any other Specialist currently, and his All Shall Burn ability is excellent for focused damage on enemy Heroes and structures. Obviously Azmodan prefers going into battle with an army of minions and Mercenaries at his back, but whatever the situation, he won't be going down without a fight."

For more information on Azmodan, be sure to check out his Hero page and the full Developer Insights post. As always, keep it locked to ZAM for more Heroes of the Storm news, information and updates.

Corey "Cyglaive" Jenkins

Follow Corey on Twitter @Cyglaive